5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Your Purpose in Life.

“The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose.” – Dr. Myles Munroe.

Everyone you meet has a different purpose. Some people live for their family and friends, spouses or children. Some people live to accumulate wealth, others to achieve fame or notoriety. We all have a different definition of what purpose is, and how to achieve it. Those who are truly happy seem to identify with their purpose and it propels them forward, inspiring everything they do or consume. While it’s easy to be happy for those who seem to know where they are going and have a tight grip on their purpose it can also be extremely frustrating if you don’t know what yours is. The majority of people are living to pay bills and die, which doesn’t seem like much of a purpose at all. Finding your purpose is extremely difficult and the majority of people will never find theirs. They may still be happy and enjoy their lives but chances are when they’re dying they will be filled with regret, wishing they would have tried more things or taken more chances at those ideas or thoughts that lit a fire inside them. There’s no clear way to find your purpose. Unfortunately there’s no equation you can use to figure out what you are on this planet for. While there’s no sure way to know, there are some things you can ask yourself to help nudge yourself towards your purpose in life. I hope these 5 questions provoke thought and inspire you to find your burning passion in life.

1.) If you had to make a 30 second speech to the entire world, what would you say?

This is an extremely hard question to answer because there’s so much to talk about. Not to mention giving a speech to the entire planet would be pretty nerve rattling and most of us would probably just clam up and choke. You may know what your speech would be on, it could be about health and wellness, climate change or the corrupt political system. I encourage you to take five minutes out of your day every day and work on your 30 second speech. It’s basically your elevator pitch to the world, and it’s probably the thing that keeps you up at night or has been a recurring thought in your head for years. Asking yourself this question is a pretty easy way to narrow down what you love. Wether it’s a problem that needs to be fixed or just something that excites you, create your 30 second speech to the world. Thanks to YouTube and other social platforms if you end up loving your pitch you can throw it online and who knows, the whole world might watch you.

2.) If you were to die at midnight tonight, what would you be doing or who would you be with at 11:45PM?

This is a super hard question to answer. Personally I would probably be hanging out with my friends, ripping some huge dabs and laughing about all the good times we’ve had. This question might not inspire your purpose in life because the majority of us would choose to spend our last waking hours with friend and family but it can tell you a lot about who you should appreciate more, spend more time with and make more memories with.

3.) If you had a shit ton of money but still had to do something to provide value to the world, what would it be?

This is always a good question to ask yourself because as I stated earlier the majority of us skate along in life, pay bills and die. Yes we have a ton of fun moments and times we can look back on but we never truly fulfill our purpose and by the time we die there’s still a fire burning deep down inside of us, just waiting to be unleashed. It’s pretty easy to identify as your career and there’s nothing wrong with that so long as it’s something you love doing but chances are most of us would choose a different occupation if we didn’t have bills to pay. Think about what you’d be doing if money were not a barrier to life. If you didn’t have to worry about bills but you still had to fill at least 40-50 hours a week of your life with some task, what would it be?

4.) What’s your biggest regret so far in life?

I love this question because it’s so hard to ask yourself. For me the biggest regret I have is just being afraid of so many things. The fear of asking someone out, or trying to fit in with a new group of friends, the fear of trying to play an instrument because you don’t want to fail. For myself fear has held me back from a lot in life. By asking this question to myself it made me reflect on my fear of fear, and how to take some actionable steps to fix it. It’s not an easy question to answer but it’s worth reflecting on. The thing you regret most in life now is the first thing you can begin to work on to fulfill your purpose.

5.) What would you want people to say about you at your funeral?

Probably my favorite question of all is asking yourself what do you want to be remembered for. We all leave a legacy, it doesn’t matter how big or small but every single one of us affects the lives of those around us in some way or another. For some of us it’s an extremely negative legacy and there’s not too many good things that can be said for us when we die. For others its basically a celebration, those who mourn us are better people for having known us and we have touched their lives in ways that will affect them forever. When you die, what do you want to be remembered for? What do you want those who are there to say about you? Will the things you brought to this world and the lessons you taught be passed on for generations or forgotten altogether? It’s your choice and you get to decide how people remember you. It’s never too late to start and it’s a good first step toward making a positive impact on the world and those around you.

Living a life of purpose is the dream. No one wants to spend their entire life being another statistic, grinding out the days until death doing things we don’t like just so we can get by and be gone forever. There is a huge difference between living and merely being alive. I hope you are inspired to work towards your purpose. It isn’t easy to find your purpose, and you may never find it, but you don’t want to be on your death bed wishing you would have tried. Every second you spend working to find your purpose will be 100% worth it once you do. Start living, not just being alive.